January 12, 2024

America's Newspapers offices to be closed on Monday, Jan. 15

In honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, the America's Newspapers offices will be closed.

Register for Mega-Conference this month, before rates increase in mid-February

America’s Newspapers is committed to delivering the latest information on key industry topics for publishers, market leaders and department heads. The Mega-Conference is the premiere conference for the news industry. From conference sessions to hallway conversations, the Mega-Conference will deliver results. Publishers are encouraged to attend with their key department heads.

The Mega-Conference, set for April 14-16 in Phoenix, Arizona, will held at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown — located near the Phoenix Convention Center, just minutes from Sky Harbor Airport.

Newspaper executives: Register early at the lowest discounted rates. And, save an additional $200 by taking part in the popular Roundtable Sessions to be held during the conference.

Solutions Partners: Your early registration also is encouraged.

For information about reserving a hotel room, click here.

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Submit your contest entries by the end of April at just $25; contest fees go up in May

Carmage Walls Commentary Prize honors courageous column and editorial writing

Awards for excellence in editorial writing (representing the view of the newspaper) and awards for excellence in column writing (columns written by one or more individuals) will be presented this October in Phoenix, Arizona, at the America's Newspapers Senior Leadership Conference. Win cash prizes and recognition!

Welcoming a new member!

America's Newspapers welcomes Quintype as new member

A warm America's Newspapers welcome to our newest member:

Quintype is a leading AI-powered digital newsroom growth platform that empowers publishers to create, distribute and monetize content.

The platform enables editors to improve the speed and efficiency of publishing by automating and simplifying the process of creating and distributing content across all channels, from websites to mobile apps to social media, from a single CMS.

It also enables publishers to create an engaging and interactive community around their content through commenting systems and monetize their content effectively through subscriptions and paywalls.

Pushkaraj Phule is vice president - marketing and can be reached at pushkaraj.phule@quintype.com.

Welcome to membership!

What we're reading ...

Opinion | The government can and should save local news

Local news outlets are dying. According to a recent report from the Medill Local News Initiative, more than 2,800 newspapers, predominantly local papers, have closed their doors since 2005 due in part to a “dramatic decline in advertising revenue.”

In a democracy, civic participation at every level requires high quality, easily accessible information. At the local level, it requires skilled journalists reporting on small-town police departments, state politicians’ homemade IDs, and local censorship crusades.

National outlets publish some great work: Jamelle Bouie’s opinion pieces for The New York Times and Elizabeth Bruenig’s coverage of the death penalty for The Atlantic both come to mind. But it will never make financial sense for The Washington Post to pay full-time journalists in small Alabama towns to cover city council meetings.

Unfortunately, the number of journalists actually paid to report on local news has been declining even faster than the number of local news outlets.

The Crimson White has been The University of Alabama's newspaper since 1894.

Microsoft launches new generative AI ad creation tool

Microsoft has announced that it’s updating its Retail Media tool with a new Creative Studio element, which will enable users to create totally new ads, in new formats, all via conversational AI prompts.

As explained by Microsoft:

“With this creative management solution, retailers and advertisers can boost creativity and productivity by generating banner creative with ease, thereby improving banner ads’ participation, performance, and ultimately revenue. With the easy-to-use AI-powered tools, retailers can also support the full breadth of their advertisers, especially the smaller ones who may not be equipped to run effective banner campaigns, thereby unleashing the full potential of banner ads’ growth in retail media programs.”

The tool is able to create ads based on just a product URL, with users then able to further customize the creative for different channels.

America's Newspapers calendar

April 14-16, 2024 - News Industry Mega-Conference, Phoenix, Arizona

October 18-19, 2024 - Family and Independent Owners Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina

October 20-22, 2024 - Senior Leadership Conference, Charleston, South Carolina

Get Involved. Be Heard. Invest In Your Future.

Keep up with the latest news, schedule of upcoming events and other information specifically for the newspaper industry. Learn more about America’s Newspapers at www.newspapers.org. And connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

www.newspapers.org